Bob Dylan has been voted an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the first time a rock musician has received the high honor.
The Academy is an exceedingly exclusive club to join. Beside the honorary members, a scant 250 members populate the New York-based institution, with new inductees only to replace the dead. Honorary members are rare, too; there are a mere 82, only 12 of whom are American.
Traditionally, the American Academy of Arts and Letters has favored the classical arts to the modern – jazz musicians, modern poets and rock stars have all been overlooked in favor of classical musicians, novelists and traditional artists. Honorary members include Meryl Streep, Yo-Yo Ma, Ian McEwan, Martin Scorsese and Salman Rushdie.
Dylan will join three other honorary inductees: architect Rafael Moneo, writer Damon Galgut and artist Luc Tuymans.
Bob Dylan has broken the rock ‘n roll performer barrier to other awards in the past, being the first to win a Pulitzer Prize (honorary) and the first to be nominated for a National Book Critics Circle award (memoir Chronicles: Volume One).